I live in Las Vegas, and work in the online gambling industry, which in a way is an extension of Vegas since most of the big action has moved offshore. I have heard stories from those I think are credible about fixes involving officials. Is that proof? No, but that coupled with
the NBA no longer releasing the names of officials prior to games, referees staying in hotels under assumed names and following no prescribed travel schedule imo strongly corroborates what I have been told. Why would the NBA do something like that if there wasn't a problem with their officials being corrupted? You could say it was a pre-emptive move, but to me it backed up what I had already been told.
I would definitely make that argument, and add to it by saying that any event that is wagered on will always be susceptible to having its officials bribed.
I disagree with this for a couple of reasons. The first is that NBA players that actually get minutes usually make so much money today that any bribe amount simply wouldn't be worth the risk, but it would be naive imo to think this never happened especially in the days when players didn't make the kind of money they do now and had to work in the offseason. Officials on the other hand, are perfect targets for a number of reasons because they are corruptable as evidenced by their
airline ticket tax evasion scheme. It's not like it was really that much money they were saving, but it was enough to risk prison time. If they were willing to risk prison time over relatively trivial amounts, don't you think they would be susceptible to a gambler's bribe?
It depends on the type of bet the gambler wants fixed. Lets say the Spurs play the Hawks in SA. The three main types of bets taken on that game or any NBA game will be the spread, the moneyline, and the over/under. In the gambling world, it's almost a given that the Spurs would win the game and that is reflected in the moneyline price, so any kind of manipulation of that would be too obvious especially if the gambler wanted the Hawks to win outright. However, a clever ref can influence the spread on a game like that (spread would probably be Spurs -11 or so) especially in garbage time by awarding or not awarding free throws. A ref could certainly influence an over/under bet by calling the game tightly or letting them play depending on what the gambler wanted. I believe this is one of the reasons that every play by the officials is under such scrutiny now. I'd bet my life that those doing the grading are aware of the betting lines on every game they grade as a way of helping them look for dubious calls.
The officiating in the playoffs this year has been much, much better than in the past. Let's hope it stays that way, but there is one huge test left before a final grade can be given.
P.S. Your avatar lured me into this debate, lol.
